Letters: Keystone, firearms and ageism

Members of the environmental groups Sierra Club, 350.org, and Committed Citizens, demonstrate in front of the White House against the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in Washington, D.C. on Feb.13. The protestors are calling on President Obama to reject the proposed pipeline that would run from the Canadian border to connect to an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO

Keystone pipeline

It is about time a liberal newspaper such as yours got behind something that is practical (“Open the Keystone spigot,” editorial, Feb. 20). The Keystone pipeline is vital not only for job creation but also for our security. More practical editorials would be welcome in the fight to get our beloved country back on track economically, as well as for the world’s respect.

Walt Muehling, Fairfield

Firearms safety

Colts Neck Township has evolved from being a farming community to a primarily residential one. For safety reasons, in 1993, our Firearms Ordinance was amended to reflect residential growth, and a no discharge map was developed prohibiting the discharge of firearms in developed areas. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

So why is the township committee rescinding the current map and replacing it with an ordinance allowing the discharge of firearms for hunting in developed residential areas with no acreage restrictions?

The hunters’ lobby and the State Division of Fish and Game have convinced the committee that we must bring our Firearms Ordinance into compliance with state law, and cannot impose more stringent restrictions than those in state code. We believe we are within our rights under state “home rule” provisions to meet and exceed the state law for the safety and well-being of our citizenry.

Documentation has been submitted substantiating our views, and case law has been cited wherein the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld a municipality’s ability to have stricter firearms discharge codes than in state law.

We have urged the committee to keep our current ordinance and no-discharge map. Add your voice to ours at a public hearing Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the courthouse.

Rose Ann Scotti, former mayor, Colts Neck

Ageism alert

“Senior citizens” — who came up with that label? Why does it seem necessary to label people in their 60s and beyond as senior citizens, separating us from the rest of the population?

Since I hit my 60s, I began noticing the dismissive and condescending treatment I receive from the merchants and the public in general. Then there is the medical profession, bullying us, sending us for this test, that test, on and on and on. These same doctors are filling our medicine cabinets to overflow with useless medications.

The Hippocratic Oath states, “First, do no harm,” but the medical profession treats us like a human money farm. My friend has a calendar on the wall, and it is crisscrossed with medical appointments. It looks like the Giants playbook.

The American people have to recognize that people of 60 years and plus are no lesser a person than you. We are strong, intuitive and an asset to the American way of life. So the next time people with gray hair pass your way, show them the respect that you expect for yourself that day.

Walter Sosnosky, Kenilworth

Minimum wage

Restaurant owner Carissa Borraggine tells us she pays her employees more than minimum wage and that it’s served her well (“I pay real wages. Shouldn’t everyone?” op-ed, Feb. 16). All other things being equal, paying premium wages is a huge competitive advantage in trying to attract higher-quality workers.

But calling for a higher minimum wage to “level the playing field” will quickly put that advantage in danger. The closer the minimum wage gets to the amount paid to the higher-quality experienced workers, the more pressure there will be to raise the wages of those employees.

It is most definitely not common sense to tie future minimum wage increases to inflation. There are times when inflation temporarily runs very high, giving minimum wage workers a disproportional automatic bump, and bringing them even closer to the wages of the more experienced. That puts further pressure on increasing their wages as well, basically a de facto automatic increase for them. It’s a vicious cycle, and the reason the oversimplistic “solutions” we get from our Legislature keep us chasing our fiscal tail.

And finally, can anyone tell me the logic of having a singular federal minimum wage for every part of the country? Does it make any sense at all that businesses in Decatur, Ala., pay the same minimum wage as in New York City? Cost of living data are easily obtainable and should be applied accordingly.

Carissa Borraggine eloquently espouses the virtues of paying her employees a wage that exceeds the state-mandated minimum, a (presumably) living wage that she decided coincides with the success of her business. No outside agency mandated either that salary or the other decisions she enumerated. She’s the one with skin in the game and she alone will prosper or perish as a result of her business acumen.

Employees mired at the bottom rung often victimize themselves through chronic absenteeism, inadequate skills, lack of ambition or a chip on their shoulders. That they can find any work at all might be chalked up to the notion that salaries can be set as low as they are. At $7.25 an hour, they’re employable; at $9, a lot less so.

Then there’s another class of self-victimization — owners who don’t abide by Borraggine’s admirable credo; they get what they pay for, which is a customer base that is usually as transient as the low-paid folks on the other side of the counter. But what’s important is that their decisions are theirs and not made for them by well-intentioned legislators who have seldom had to meet a payroll.

John Manley, North Bergen

Olympic wrestling

After reading “Ancient sport of wrestling should remain in modern Olympics” (editorial, Feb. 16), I disagreed with a majority of its content. It was made clear that wrestling is currently prominent in two countries — the United States and Russia. That is simply not enough to support an entire Olympic event. Even in the United States, there are no highly known organizations of competitive wrestling above the college level.

Wrestling’s time has ran out, due to an eroding worldwide participation. It is remaining an amateur sport, and I do not see this changing. If it were to grow into a more popular sport, I would have no problems with it being in the Olympics, but until then, it needs to be sidelined.

As for the modern pentathlon, I see this as a very unique event with a big upside. It does exactly what an Olympic event should do: display a multitude of skills in a concentrated palette of athletes. I believe this event will catch a large amount of viewers’ eyes.

Kurt Bambach, Montville

Hagel hearing

As a Vietnam veteran, I was dismayed to hear of freshman Sen. Ted Cruz’s criticism of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel.

Cruz (R-Texas) questioned Hagel’s patriotism even though the nominee volunteered for Vietnam and was wounded twice. How old was Cruz when Hagel was risking his life in the jungle every day?